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October 2007

October 29, 2007

THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION. An interesting problem here. After it ended, I really found I had enjoyed it - it felt both really entertaining and very educational - and it held my interest the entire time. Well, then I got home and went to Wikipedia and read the real story of Farnsworth v Sarnoff. And basically, Sorkin changed almost the entire story. Which leads me to wonder why he didn't just change the names, and write a work of fiction, rather than write a work of fiction disguised as history.

If I was a cynical person, I might be tempted to answer the question "why did he write fiction disguised as history?" by answering "because this way, he doesn't have to pay for any of the rights to the material he has "borrowed from."

The irony in that statement is that Fred Zollo, who is listed as one of the producers of this Broadway production, is also one of the partners who owns the adaptation rights to Pem Farnsworth's book, Distant Vision. It was Zollo who first introduced Sorkin to this material back in the mid 1990s, while Sorkin was under contract to Castle Rock Entertainment. That project fell through, allegedly due to some of Sorkin's personal problems during the period. But nobody has adequately explained just how it is that Zollo remains attached to this project, when Mrs. Farnsworth's book -- and indeed the entire family -- have been neatly jettisoned from the whole process.

There is a scene in the play where Sarnoff's wife asks him "what is the 'getting around Farnsworth department?'" The reference is to RCA's Camden laboratory in the 1930s, which was actively engaged in finding a way to transmit electronic television signals without infringing on any of Farnsworth's patents.

And the irony in THAT statement is that the "getting around Farnsworth department" appears to be alive and well in the year 2007.

There have been numerous suggestions that The Farnsworth Invention is anticipated as this season's follow up to last season's hugely successful (and critically acclaimed) Nixon/Frost, which, like 'Farnsworth,' tells a story of two opposing protagonists. Here's a blog post from one viewer who saw the play through just such a prism:

The Farnsworth Invention also contains a conclusive "meeting" between Sarnoff and Farnsworth, but for me it lacked dramatic impact. Perhaps this is because Farnsworth is a scientist and lacks the Shakespearean bravado of a character of Nixon's stature. If anything, Sarnoff might have the bravado but Azaria wisely soft pedals it, particularly when it might come off as gloating. What is clear is Sarnoff's admiration and recognition of Farnsworth's genius and his earth-shattering contribution to technology and communication.

Sarnoff admires Farnsworth, but that doesn't stop him from robbing the inventor of his glory. As Sarnoff says alluding to when the Cossacks ran his family out of Russia, "I burned his house down before he could burn mine." (That quote is inexact, but pretty close.)

Actually, I think the (fictional) encounter between Sarnoff and Farnsworth is one of the more intriguing constructions of the play. But it doesn't quite underscore the central drama of the whole story. Sarnoff tells Farnsworth "come to work for RCA." And Farnsworth responds, "why, so you can tell me what to invent?" THAT, in my mind, is the central theme of the entire drama, but that's really the only inference it gets.

The professional theatrical press is still enjoined from writing reviews of The Farnsworth Invention prior to its official November 14 opening. But that hasn't stopped bloggers who have seen the play from writing whatever and whenever the want. For example, this recent entry from somebody who saw the play last week:

The cast was ABSOLUTELY HUGE, and I really think that the play could benefit from a downsizing—this is just my snotty, uninformed opinion. For example—there were all these characters that we see once and then never again. I like when there are a million characters and I like it when an actor plays a ton of them, but there were so many actors that the effect was totally, in my mind, diminished. At curtain call, I said to Jess “I feel like I didn’t even see half of those people during the show.”

This assessment is consistent with the view expressed by somebody else I spoke to last week, who said simply, "too much story, not enough character." The ironies in that statement are manifold: Not enough 'character' in a play with 150 of them, and too much 'story' but they still don't get it quite right...

October 26, 2007

Last fall, Simpson found himself in the midst of a struggling actor's dream, winning a plum role in the third Die Hard movie and the lead in the workshop of The Farnsworth Invention. "I had auditioned for the play, and the only hope I had was that I wouldn't look like an asshole in front of Aaron Sorkin," he says of the creator of The West Wing. "Never in my wildest dreams did I expect anything, but about a month later I heard that he'd like me to do it. It timed perfectly with Die Hard, but then about two days into shooting, Bruce Willis wanted to take a vacation that messed up my dates. Fox said, 'You can't do the play,' and I said, 'Uhhh… I think I can't do the movie.'"

A good choice, in my estimation. He fills the role quite nicely, and is a truly commanding presence on the stage.

October 23, 2007

I found your Web site after searching for Farnsworth material after I saw "The Farnsworth Invention" Thursday night on Broadway.

My opinion: Those who have studied in great detail the history of Philo Farnsworth and David Sarnoff can't help but be disappointed in how the play presents many details. But I fear that's an inevitable consequence when 20 years of scientific research and legal wrangling are condensed into two hours.

Yet, overall, I felt the play was a powerful tribute to Farnsworth's brilliance as an inventor and an insightful look at two men who were instrumental in the development of television. Farnsworth, the inventor, comes across as a gifted prodigy with breakthrough ideas, yet who is hamstrung by the daunting obstacles of his embryonic device and by a few understandable human weaknesses (notably drinking). Sarnoff comes across as ruthless in his drive to control television's crucial patents, largely because he has the vision to see what a powerful new medium television will become. "The ends justify the means," he says at one point. "That's what means are for."

Like others, I saw a strong similarity in "Farnsworth" to "Frost/Nixon," and I predict NYC reviewers will be impressed. Hank Azaria does a particularly masterful job in conveying Sarnoff's single-minded ruthlessness without making him a cartoonish villain.

For what it's worth ....

SC, New York, NY

I guess we'll just have to wait and see if the ends justifying the means will apply to the play itself. Hopefully people who see the play will be compelled to rush home to their computers to seek more information on the web, where they will discover that the real Philo Farnsworth was not nearly as "sad and desperate" as one observer commented after seeing the "I've Got A Secret" footage over at YouTube

October 21, 2007

Here's another report from a spectator at one of the early previews of The Farnsworth Invention on Broadway. As other early reports have indicated, it seems the "Farnsworth character" in this portrayal does not fare all that well:

Mr. Simpson's Farnsworth is a talented genius, flawed by his focus on his invention. Stumbling drunk, or painfully honest, he is a hero who is never properly recognized for his contribution during his lifetime. I did find the missing self-confidence displayed by his younger portrayal a bit confusing at first. Perhaps it was Mr. Sorkin's writing that effected such a change as the cost of a formal education in the period.

I dunno... maybe that explains why the Farnsworth family has yet to hear a word from the production company re: an invitation to the formal opening next month (despite the inclusion of the producer who owns the rights to Pem Farnsworth's book, Distant Vision, as one of the play's producers).

I wonder if there will be any Sarnoffs at the festivities on November 14...?

October 16, 2007

And so the first accounts (we're not supposed to call them "reviews" until after the official opening in November) of the first preview performances of Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention are beginning to show up in the blogosphere. For example, this wrap up from The New York Observer's "Culture Czar" blog:

The Farnsworth Invention takes on the advent of television in the 1920's and 30's. A slick-haired, sharp-suited Hank Azaria is Lang Sarnoff, the president of RCA. Under the glittering lights of Radio City Music Hall, his armies of Ph.D.-bearing scientists and pinstriped executives are racing against a ragtag team of inventors in Chicago, lead by Philo T. Farnsworth. Played by Jimmi Simpson (think of a cross between James Spader and Cillian Murphy), Farnsworth is a mathematical genius from backwoods Utah, who's more interested in electrons and copper wires than notoriety and fortune. RCA would eventually pilfer his ideas and take the credit for inventing the most influential device in the 20th Century.

"Lang" Sarnoff? A ragtag team of inventors from Chicago? Huh? This doesn't sound like the play I saw in San Diego. Maybe this blogger's ears were stuffed with Silly Putty or something. At least, apparently, they got Farnsworth's name right.

The 'preview' performances of The Farnsworth Invention began their month-long run on Broadway last night, and at least one audience member had the presence of mind to seek out more information on the web, posting this comment on YouTube:

I just returned from the new play on Broadway - The Farnsworth Invention. What a story. He truly was ripped off by RCA and David Sarnoff. After reading about him on Wiki, it does sound like his life was not as sad and desperate as portrayed in the show. I was glad to read that.

"Sad and desperate?" Indeed.... how sad is it that this is the impression that people would come away from the theater with?

October 14, 2007

Performances begin on Monday, October 15 for the world premiere of Aaron Sorkin's new American play about the advent of television, The Farnsworth Invention, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, opening on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. The play stars Tony Award-nominee Hank Azaria as David Sarnoff, and Jimmi Simpson as Philo T. Farnsworth.